And I thought this only happened to other people...
Patient was a 1992 Infiniti G20 owned by a friend of my wife's.
She went to leave our house, turned the ignition key which was followed by a loud BOOM and smoke from under the hood.
I opened the hood to find the vent caps missing from the battery, the top of the case cracked open and the stench of sulphur.
If it had not been for the "over the case" battery clamp, the whole top would surely have blown off.
The battery was a Nissan oem battery, After I liberally washed the area around the battery with baking soda and water, we were able to find a replacement at a nearby Autozone...
I shudder to think what might have happened if this battery had been under the rear seat, as in one of my Avants.
I assume what happened is that the water level was too low, and that the turning of the ignition switch caused an internal short that ignited the hydrogen?
More reason to periodically check the water level in you batteries.
-Peter
Peter Schulz
1990 CQ (awaiting S2 3b engine transplant)
1991 200 20v TQW indigo mica
1991 200 20v TQW titanium grey
Chelmsford, MA USA
peter at audifans.com